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Justin Trudeau expected to reopen Parliament in early December

OTTAWA— Prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau is expected to move quickly to reopen Parliament in a bid to kick-start his Liberal government and provide Canadians with a middle-class tax break as soon as possible.

Governments often take several months to prepare for the reopening of Parliament and draft a speech from the throne setting out the ruling party’s priorities and policies.

So there had been speculation the Liberals might wait until January to convene the Commons and Senate. MPs usually return home for the holiday break between mid-December and late January.

But Trudeau promised during the election campaign to move quickly on a number of issues, especially the Liberals’ pledge to bring in a tax cut for middle-income earners.

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“Justin kept emphasizing during the campaign that we are going to act now, now, now, so you don’t want to be saying wait, wait, wait,” said one Liberal MP. “There may not be a great deal we can do before Christmas but we could bring in the middle-class tax cut and a few other measures.”

However, Trudeau will be hard-pressed to recall Parliament — which last sat in June — any sooner than December unless he forgoes travelling to a series of international summits.

On Nov. 15-16, he is expected to make his first appearance on the international stage at a summit of G20 leaders in Antalya, Turkey. The next global meeting is an Asia-Pacific leaders’ economic conference in Manila on Nov. 18-19, followed by a Commonwealth meeting in Malta on Nov. 27-29.

And most importantly, Trudeau will pave the way for his promise for a combined federal-provincial initiative on greenhouse gas reduction when he attends the United Nations Climate Conference in Paris in late November, a meeting for which he has also invited Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and other provincial leaders.

The December return of Parliament could enable the Liberals to quickly deliver on the tax-cut pledge.

Tax changes can be put in place immediately once the legislation is tabled in the Commons. The Canada Revenue Agency will begin implementing a tax measure right away if MPs pass a ways and means motion. This means employees could see improvements in their take-home pay before long if the new government goes ahead with the tax measure.

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Trudeau is working with advisers on the transition to power and making the cabinet picks. As well, he has asked two senior advisers who have been at his side since he became Liberal leader to remain on in the Prime Minister’s Office.

“(Trudeau) has asked Katie (Telford) and Gerry (Butts) to maintain the co-CEO model they had in place since they began planning the leadership campaign more than three years ago,” one Liberal official told the Star.

“They are busy trying to figure out how to apply that to a government context, not to mention with their own families,” the source said, adding that other staffing decisions will be announced “shortly.”

In addition to its tax pledges, the Liberal government also needs to move quickly on its promise to resettle 25,000 Syrian refugees; the creation of a national inquiry into missing and murdered women; pulling out of the combat mission against Islamic State extremists, and amending Bill C-51, the Conservatives’ anti-terror legislation.

Meanwhile, Stephen Harper will formally resign as prime minister on Nov. 4, just before the Liberal government is sworn in. Harper visited Governor General David Johnston immediately after the election and said he would step down given the Liberal win.

“In keeping with Canadian practice, the prime minister signified his intention to resign when he visited the Governor General at Rideau Hall,” said Marie-Ève Létourneau, a spokesperson for Johnston.

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